COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA (ABN: 122 104 616)

Monday, July 3, 2017

Centrelink hacks your smart phone, lawfully?

The agenda for forcing enticing people to use smart
phones is so that they can be monitored more easily which leads to greater
control.

With every stroke of Her Most Excellent Majesty Queen
Elizabeth II's purple pen to the Royal Assent to laws of this colony, the
people are having their rights(whatever was left of them) or privacy or freedom
of movement taken away from them and enslaved even further.

Apparently the people in government have thought of an idea whereby
a business called Centrelink that is
handing out government welfare payments to the people, have some sort of
magical powers that lawfully allows Centrelink to hack your smart phone.

Smart phones are the gateway for governments and business to
covertly eavesdrop into your private and confidential home life.

No wonder the corporations want you to buy a new phone every
year, where you pay from $300 - $1200 for a government surveillance tool that the
government does not have to fork out the dollars for. Brilliant 'marketing'
strategy.

It seems that the most serious 'fraud' is committed by people in 'government', but then again aren't they untouchable?

Can YOU make criminal charges stick against a politician fraudster AND incarcerate that 'person'?

The Police State of Australia in full swing.

Here is what the Fairfax publication wrote on 30th of June
2017 on this topic of the headline:

Centrelink hacking into fraudsters' phones

Centrelink is using controversial high-tech phone-breaking devices to
reveal secrets hidden by suspected fraudsters in their smart phones.

The
agency says it uses the technology in strict accordance with the law
and only when it has obtained a warrant when investigating cases of
serious fraud.

The
Department of Human Services, which oversees Centrelink, has spent
$32,249 on Cellebrite products in the 2016 / 2017 financial year. Photo: Bradley Kanaris
But experts have warned the use of the 'Universal Forensic
Extraction Devices' is jeopardising the communications security of
Australians.

The welfare agency has joined other government
outfits including the Australian Taxation Office and the Employment
Department in using the extraction devices, which allow users to bypass security features on smart phones and extract data, including messages and call logs.

Centrelink and other agencies are not using the devices to listen in
on their clients' telephone calls and investigators must have physical
possession of the phone to be able to use the UFED.

The
technology, developed by Israeli company Cellebrite, gained global
attention in 2015 after it was believed to have helped the FBI crack the
iPhone of San Bernardino terrorist attacker Syed Rizwan Farook.

But Deakin University criminologist Adam Molnar said the use of
Cellebrite technology by Centrelink was concerning and an overreach.

The Cellebrite system can extract data from a variety of phones. Photo: Tessa Stevens
"I think this is a classic case of function creep.

"If Centrelink
is using this technology then they should be forthwith about the
specific circumstances under which they're using these sort of mobile
hacking technologies."

The Cellebrite system has a cable for every phone on the market. Photo: Tessa StevensDo you know more? Get in touch via
finbar.omallon@fairfaxmedia.com.au or using the app Signal on your smart
phone via 0437 464 126.

I would say that's a blatant misuse of this particular solution. I think this is a classic case of function creep.Deakin University criminologist Adam Molnar

A spokesperson for the department said Cellebrite devices had been used "less than 50 times" during the financial year.

"The
technology is only used for evidence collection during warrants for
serious non-compliance and fraud cases," the DHS spokesperson said.

Warrants
were issued under the Crimes Act and executed on the department's
behalf by the Australian Federal Police, which also possesses Cellebrite
technology, according to the department.

Australian Privacy
Foundation chair David Vaile said the use of this technology, originally
justified to fight terrorism or child pornographers, was becoming more
routine and broader.

"If it's a boiling frog, at each stage the
water is made warmer," Mr Vaile said. "The definition of what is a quote
'serious criminal offence', that's sort of a moving target."

"[Law
enforcement] haven't understood the battle is being lost
about IT security and they're contributing to it by normalising the
idea."

Mr Molnar said Centrelink employees wanting to blow the
whistle on misuse of Cellebrite technology faced jail time under the
Crimes Act.

"To learn that you have additional government
agencies, such as the ATO and Centrelink, relying on Cellebrite
solutions, then I think it's time for a much more public debate about
maintaining the security and integrity of our communications
infrastructure as a whole," he said.

Mr Molnar said government agencies already had access to an incredible scope of information, including metadata.

"One
wonders whether there's adequate attention being given to already
existing powers or other solutions that might be less privacy invasive,"
Mr Molnar said.

The Department of Employment said they used
Cellebrite technology to determine whether fraud has been committed
against the government.

"We cannot comment on specific investigations," an Employment Department spokesperson said.
The ATO confirmed they have access to the technology but wouldn't comment on why they used it.

The
Australian Securities and Investment Commission said they use UFED to
copy smart phones obtained under warrant, produced voluntarily or given
in response to a notice from ASIC.

"The kits are mobile and can be
taken to warrant or forthwith notice sites for use on location, or used
within ASIC offices," an ASIC spokesperson said.

Commonwealth
Attorney-General George Brandis is looking to develop laws to
allow device makers, internet-service providers and social media
companies to voluntarily hand over user data to law enforcement.